The Board of County Commissioners on Friday declared a stage two water shortage for OWASA customers.
Because of exceptional drought conditions, the county and OWASA have enacted stage two water restrictions, which include the following:
• Water use by individually metered residential customer accounts and by individually metered single-family residential irrigation-only accounts shall be limited to no more than an average of 800 gallons per day during any monthly billing cycle beginning after the declaration of a Water Supply Shortage or Water Supply Emergency and ending while such restrictions are still in effect;
• Spray irrigation with OWASA-supplied potable water shall not be permitted, except by persons regularly engaged in the sale of plants, who shall be allowed to irrigate their commercial stock in trade;
• Irrigation by underground, drip irrigation, micro spray, low precipitation bubblers, soaker hose systems with automatic shutoffs, or by hand held hoses or watering cans shall be limited to a maximum of one-half inch of water applied to plant material in any given week;
• No OWASA-supplied potable water shall be used to re-fill ornamental fountains, ponds, and like devices;
• No OWASA-supplied potable water shall be used for washing vehicles, except at commercial or institutional car washes in which at least 50 percent of the water has been recycled;
• No OWASA-supplied potable water shall be used for filling or re-filling empty swimming pools. OWASA-supplied potable water may be used to top off operating swimming pools;
• No OWASA-supplied potable water shall be used for the routine cleaning or washing of exterior building surfaces, decks, or paved areas, such as sidewalks, driveways, roadways, and parking lots. This restriction shall not apply to the pressure cleaning of exterior building surfaces or decks prior to painting or re-painting that is necessary to protect or maintain the physical integrity of the
structure;
• No OWASA-supplied potable water may be used for fire department training or equipment testing unless required by State or Federal regulations;
• Restaurants and dining facilities shall serve water only on request of the customer;
• Hotels, motels, and other facilities providing sleeping accommodations shall change bed linens only upon request of the customer, or upon customer changeover, or every five days for long-term customers;
• The operation of dishwashers and clothes washers only when loaded to their maximum capacity, or at water level settings appropriate for the size of the load being washed, shall be strongly encouraged;
• The use of ultra-low flow toilets, tank dams, flow restrictors (aerators) and low-flow showerheads, where not otherwise required, shall be strongly encouraged; and additional indoor conservation practices – as well as devices – shall also be encouraged;
• Plumbing systems shall be properly maintained and repaired to prevent water leaks; and
• Indoor water leaks on property or facilities of OWASA customers must be repaired within ten (10) days of discovery and notification by OWASA.
In addition, restrictions mandate that OWASA water not be wasted. Wasteful uses include:
• Landscape water applied in such a manner, rate and/or quantity that it overflows the landscaped area being watered and runs onto adjacent property or public right-of-way; or landscape water applied during periods of rainfall or when soil moisture is already adequate;
• The use of water for washing vehicles, equipment, or hard surfaces, such as parking lots, aprons, pads, driveways, or other surfaced areas, in such quantities to flow onto adjacent property or the public right-of-way;
• Water applied in sufficient quantity to cause ponding on impervious surfaces; and
• Water lost through plumbing leaks that can be readily identified
and corrected.